Daugette to run for Pct. 3 County Commissioner post

Thirty-five-year Walker County resident and former municipal employee Bill Daugette has announced his plans to run for Pct. 3 Walker County commissioner in the March 2016 Republican primary.

“I am excited about this commissioner’s race and I look forward to showing the voters that I am the most qualified candidate for the job,” Daugette said Tuesday when announcing his candidacy. “I feel my decades of experience in operations and public works management for several cities, including Huntsville, Conroe and Splendora, demonstrate my knowledge and my problem-solving abilities when it comes to government operations management.

Daugette, who has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Sam Houston State University, is an independent consultant in municipal public works and operations in Montgomery County. He also a state-certfied public manager and only one of four people in Texas to have achieved an A level certification from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in water, wastewater and solid waste management.

His experience includes personnel oversight of a budgets of more than $25 million a year.

“Not only do I see great opportunities for improvement in customer service (in Walker County government) but also transparency in the county’s budgetary processes,” Daugette said. “I have plans for improving day-to-day department management as well as project management.”

Daugette said the county is destined for significant growth. “I will insist on sound financial investment in an infrastructure that will meet the needs of that growth, as well as the development of policy that will serve a growing community and population.”

Daugette worked for the City of Huntsville for 26 years, working his way up from meter reader to director of public utilities. During his tenure, he oversaw the installation of water and sewer lines and helped build parks and pave roads.

“One of the things I am most proud of is my role in the cleanup of Huntsville after hurricanes Rita and Ike,” Daugette told The Huntsville Item when he announced his candidacy for Pct. 3 County Commissioner in 2013. “My Incident Command Training helped me to organize and execute a plan that removed tons of garbage, trash and debris from our community in a fast and efficient manner.”

Daugette and his wife, Debra, have three sons and four grandchildren. Their sons, all Huntsville High School graduates, have served in the U.S. military.